Chapter 22

I coughed out water, lungs burning once more. Everything was wet. Mud was caked to the side of my body, like I had been dragged ashore. A grim reminder shown through the mud on my hands. My nails had gotten longer, the unnatural deep purple shade still there. Becoming incorporeal even briefly had damaged Vaati's spell.

"No, no, no!" Zelda's voice said from nearby. "I told you she is not a monster and that we need your help. This is of the utmost importance, sir."

"Princess Zelda, your knights came here, telling us that this very monster had helped abduct you," another voice chimed in. "Our Queen has given us orders, that if we were to find you, to take you to safety. And, that if we saw your captors, to…"

"I know all this. Just, please, listen to what I am saying. I know you have your orders, but under the circumstances, please make an exception. Eivie is not a threat to you or me. The true threat is Ganondorf and Vaati, and we need the cooperation of the Zoras to prevent disaster from befalling Hyrule."

I shakily pushed myself off of the ground. Zelda stood next to a Zora with his helmet under his arm and spear's tip planted in the ground. We had fallen into Lake Hylia, conveniently enough. I looked around, ignoring the glaring Zora.

"Gomess?" I rasped.

The ghost rose out of the ground. "Yes, nearly dead human?"

"Monster!" the Zora shouted, pointing his spear at Gomess. "Princess Zelda, step back!"

"No, this one will not attack either." Zelda forced a smile. "Please calm down. Everything is fine."

"Gomess, go get the key in Death Mountain." I wiped my muddy hands on the skirt of my dress. There was not enough time for Zelda and I to trek up the mountain, poke around a cave, and get back to Castle Town before Ganon is defeated. I would have to trust Gomess to fetch the key. "Once you have it, give it to Link." I lowered my voice. "Do whatever necessary to obtain that key, but try to avoid killing anyone if possible."

"As you wish, decayed one." The dark ghost hovered closer. "And after I deliver the key?" He laughed under his breath. "Do you wish me to find your corpse, walking or otherwise?"

"Return to me if I still live." I glanced at my hand. "If not, it is up to you who you serve."

"Then farewell, Eivie, mortal Poe." Gomess shot upwards before flying to the west.

"Now, sir Zora," Zelda began, "about the key I mentioned."

The Zora lowered it spear. "The silver key is a treasure given to us by one of the Great Fairies." He looked across the lake. "I have no such right to give something like that away."

"Is there any way we can barrow it, though? We need this key to stop the demon Vaati." Zelda placed a hand on her hip, still managing to keep her voice level and polite. "If we could get an audience with your queen or if you could ask…"

"Only you would be allowed into our Domain." The Zora shot a look my way.

"We need the key now," I said bluntly. Judging by Zelda's exasperation she had been trying to convince the Zora for a while. There was no time to go to Zora's Domain ourselves, explain our situation once more, and then wait for a decision to be made.

"And who are you, monster, to tell me what to do? It was only upon the Princess' request that I dragged you ashore." The Zora took a step forward. "You, the very monster that helped abduct the princess, has no right to request anything!"

I met his challenge and stepped forward as well. "So you will deny us the one thing that can stop Vaati? Do you think he will stay ignorant to your kind possessing such a threat? He will come here. He will rip you all apart, feed your mangled corpses to monsters, and then destroy the rest of Hyrule."

"Eivie," Zelda gasped, hand over her mouth.

I continued, seething more with every word. "Do you understand your situation yet? Do you understand that by needlessly arguing with us you risk Vaati killing your only chance of survival? We need that key now so we can get to the castle to save the hero before we're all doomed to die!"

"Eivie," Zelda snapped this time, quieting me. "I apologize, sir Zora, but she speaks the truth. If we do not get that key soon, Vaati will destroy everything. I understand that we have put you in a very inconvenient position, but we need the Zoras, and your, cooperation to survive."

"I…" the Zora trailed off, glancing back at the lake. "I will seek an audience with the queen immediately. I will return as soon as I can, but I do not promise you anything." His webbed feet slapped the mud as he walked towards the water. He placed his helmet back over his head. "Princess, please keep an eye on your monster," he warned before diving into the water.

Zelda turned towards me, a half-glare on her face. "Why had you threatened him like that? It was not necessary."

"We do not have time to play politics. If I learned anything from Vaati it is that threats are very effective." I hoped it was Vaati's influence that caused the outburst. The other option was that the Death Sword's personality was already creeping out again. I had been in control, though. I had said the words, not it. "It seems to have worked. That is all that matters at this point."

"Fine," she huffed. "Now that those bats are gone, however, I would like to know exactly what Vaati is planning. Especially concerning the Triforce." She held her hand up, looking at the back of it. "That would explain why he took me, I suppose. 'It's just a birthmark.' Yeah, sure," she muttered to herself.

"He will use Link to defeat Ganondorf and take the Triforce of Power. He would likely kill Link after that. I have been assuming Link holds the other piece by what the Poes told me. About Link being an incarnation of some sorts, chosen by the Goddesses to defeat evil."

"I have a feeling that he does have the other piece. I always felt he had some extraordinary power, especially because of his blind stup… I mean courage." Zelda sighed looking over the lake, in the direction of the castle. "You seem to have a plan in mind. What is it?"

"After we get the key we will go to Castle Town. Hopefully we will be in time to stop Vaati before he has any of the Triforce. If not," I paused, looking at the ground. "If not, then I will distract Vaati from Link to allow you both to escape. Then you could use the keys to reach the palace."

"Eivie, you need to stop trying to sacrifice yourself. We all three could fight him, and you know that." She put her hands on her hips. "The three of us would have a better chance against him than just you."

"I… I know… It is just that if something were to go wrong, Vaati could have all three pieces. I know that eventually I will lose myself to the Death Sword. I am dying, and I would rather die trying to protect this place than… Than letting that monster wreak havoc."

"We can find a way to help you! I am sure of it!"

"Even with all of his magic Vaati is unable to help me," I growled. "There is nothing left for me as a human. I will use that monster's power to my advantage before it kills me. There is no helping me anymore. There never was." I clenched my mouth before muttering, "I am a monster. I have always been one. No amount of denial will change the truth."

"Eivie," Zelda said, trailing off. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking away from me. "We should still not split up. We should fight him together."

"No." It would take everything I had to battle Vaati. I would lose control of my body. They did not need to see that. "I refuse your help. Retreat with Link and form an actual plan to fight Vaati."

She said nothing in response, seeming to understand that I had no more patience. We stared at the lake, waiting for the Zora to return with the blasted key.

The demon Vaati dived downward, the streets of Castle Town below them. He dropped Link on the ground, his sword and shield clanking as he rolled. The sorcerer returned to his Hylian form and tapped his foot as he waited for the knight to stand up.

Link glared at Vaati, brushing the dust off of his clothes. "Ganon in the castle?" Link was already walking down the street, towards the stone giant of a castle. He took out his sword. A line of Bokoblin were screeching, having just noticed the two arrivals.

"Yes," Vaati answered, walking behind Link. The sentry back in the castle had reported that Eivie and Zelda seemed to be talking with Hue and Gomess. It could not hear what they were saying, only that they all looked particularly tense.

Link slashed apart a Bokoblin, then glanced over his shoulder at the distracted sorcerer. "Did something happen with Eivie and Zelda?" Vaati's twitch was enough to tell Link that he had guessed correctly.

"It is not something to concern yourself with," he muttered, flicking his wrist and slamming a few of the Bokoblin into the wall with a gust.

"What will happen to Eivie?" Link hacked apart another Bokoblin, frowning. "I mean, with her and the Death Sword? She seemed better, but…"

"She will revert to the creature you saw in the temple," Vaati said flatly. "For the time being, she is a lost cause, especially with how she is acting." He growled when the sentry watching Zelda and Eivie was slashed apart by Gomess. He had hoped that for once she would behave, but apparently that was asking too much of the Poe hybrid. "Damn it, Eivie," he grumbled.

"Something wrong?" Link asked, a smile forming. Whatever Zelda and Eivie were doing was truly irritating Vaati. The sorcerer gave no answer, only a scowl.

Another group of Bokoblin came down the street, squawking as they waved their weapons in the air. Link raised his sword to fight the bunch off.

"Eivie, don't you dare," Vaati growled. The Darknut had cornered them on the balcony. The black Poe had his arms around Zelda and Eivie was climbing over the rails. Then the idiot jumped.

A sudden gale slammed into the Bokoblin, shredding them apart with their own weapons. Link stared at the carnage before turning to see what the sorcerer was doing. Vaati had his hands clenched and a snarl on his face as he looked eastward. Link could only see buildings.

"What'd they do?" Link waited for the fuming sorcerer to answer but sighed after a moment. Vaati had not even heard him over how angry he was. Whatever they did had him seething, which was funny, but also concerning.

"Where did they go?" he suddenly shouted. Sure, he could speak with the sentries telepathically, but yelling seemed more satisfying at the moment. The sentry that had been hidden in the room frantically mentioned the lake being below the palace. He growled, throwing his hands up. He only had Darknut at his disposal currently. They could not survive the fall down, let alone swim in a lake. He did not have time to go fetch them himself.

"Hey," Link said, stepping in front of Vaati, "what'd they do? Where'd they go?"

Vaati shoved Link out of the way. "Let's just get to the castle." He stomped away. He had to get the Triforce before Eivie decided to interfere. It would not be long before she was in Castle Town. She would tell the knight his plans, and then he would be fighting against Link, who was armed with an evil banishing sword. He did not want to take chances considering how past fights had turned out. Not this time. No, he would be the winner this time.

Link caught up to the sorcerer, matching his pace. "Seriously," he grumbled, "how does Eivie put up with you?"

"Considering she just jumped out of a flying palace, she does not."

"What?" Link stepped in front of Vaati, causing him to stop walking. "What do you mean she jumped? Is she all right? Is Zelda all right?"

Vaati shrugged. "She had Gomess carry Zelda, and then proceeded to jump. Eivie could be dead for all I know." Eivie had probably landed in the lake. The palace should have been right above it. If she managed to slow her decent, she should be alive. Of course she could not swim very well, judging by the amount of burns she had from Jahalla's toxic lake. "She is probably alive," he added quietly. The ghost would have fished her out of the lake before she drowned. Gomess seemed oddly attached to her.

"You don't even know if they're okay?"

"That is not our main concern, presently." Vaati took a step to the side, Link blocking him. Vaati glared. "Ganondorf is our priority right now. I already have a sentry looking for them," he lied. "I will tell you when it finds them." Link did not move, so Vaati teleported around him. Then he trudged forward, hearing Link give an exasperated sigh before following.

There was no more conversation. Waves of Bokoblin and Bulblin filled the streets, numbers growing with every step closer to the castle. Link had to hack his way through, while Vaati had resorted to turning the monsters to stone. When they reached the courtyard, Link stopped, lowering his sword as he stared at the castle grounds. There were weapons littering the area, the grass and flowers were torn from the soil, and the fountain was crumbling, the water gone. This was where the knights had fought. The bodies were gone, but the bloodstains remained.

Link bit his lip, holding back anger, sadness, everything he felt. He charged forward. Seeing what Ganon had caused first-hand… He knew why they needed to get rid of him. Link quickly reached the doors of the castle. There were two Lizalfos guarding the entrance, both hissing as they noted the two invaders. Link did not hesitate to slash the nearest apart. Vaati turned the other monster to stone in a flash of light.

"Let's do this," Link muttered. The large door groaned as it opened. As soon as they were open wide enough to squeeze through, Link entered.

The once spectacular castle in ruins. The tapestries that decorated the walls were shredded. Some of the paintings were knocked to the ground, damaged by arrows, fire, and everything else imaginable. The marble floors were covered in mud, blood, and discarded swords, bows, and spears. The hole in the ceiling left by Vaati had widened, and chunks of stone had fallen to the ground. There was no one to be seen.

Link stepped around the debris. He tried not to think about what would have happened during the siege. Fighting required concentration; not the distracting, wild rage he felt right now. Vaati kept his distance as he followed Link up the stairs and to the heavy doors leading into the throne room. No monsters showed up to stop them. Even Ganon must have known no amount of underlings would stop Link and Vaati from reaching him.

Link reached out to open the doors only to have a blast of magic obliterate them. Link looked over his shoulder at the sorcerer before deciding to ignore him again. He walked through the rubble the door left behind. On the far side of the room, the Gerudo king sat in the stolen throne. Once Link was in the center of the room, the imposing man stood, his dark armor clanking against itself.

"Welcome to my castle." Ganondorf cackled quietly under his breath. He took a step forward, his sword catching light and gleaming ominously.

Vaati stayed back, choosing to lean in the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He only needed to be present for the show, to be there when it was over to claim what was his. He would only step in if time deemed it necessary. The weaker Link was after his battle, the easier it would be to kill him.

One of his sentries had found the two escapees. They were on the road towards town. They did not speak or even glance at each other as they trudged along the path. The dark Poe was not with them; nor any other Poes. If the battle was quick, Vaati would not have to deal with Eivie or Zelda interfering. Perhaps their escape would not be a complete blunder.

Link had already forgotten the sorcerer, and was glaring at Ganondorf as the man rambled about "light and dark" and him being the only one "worthy" of being king. Soon after the spiel, Ganondorf gave a roar, turning into the form of twisted beast. The tusked monstrosity charged forward, crashing into walls and toppling pillars as it chased Link. The knight had already found a weak point; a glowing gem on the pig's forehead. He spent more time dodging than attacking, though. Link had actually thought Vaati would help him, even if just a bit. He rolled out of the way of another charge, knowing that this battle would be exhausting.

There was smoke rising over the walls of Castle Town. We even come upon people fleeing the walls, saying that a pig-like beast was demolishing everything in its path. They said it had come from the castle, chasing after a knight clad in green. Zelda and I decided Ganondorf must have had another form, just like Vaati did.

When we reached a ranch –Lon Lon Ranch I believe- on the outskirts of town, I finally turned to Zelda. She would not like this at all.

"I think you should stay here."

"No," she said, walking right past me.

I stared for a second before moving to catch up with her. "If both Link and you are there…"

"You are not going alone, Eivie."

I opened my mouth, but she silenced me with a glare.

"Do you really think that you can fight off Vaati alone and get Link to safety? You heard what those people were saying. There is a… It is very likely Link will be injured. I will help Link escape since you seem so adamant about fighting Vaati."

I did not respond right away. She had a point. "Fine," I mumbled. "You will escape with Link and I will distract Vaati. I told Gomess to give the key to Link, so hopefully he listens to my orders." I glanced down at my hand, the nails still lengthened and dark violet. "Then it will be up to you and Link to defeat Vaati."

She nodded in response. The silence between us was back. I had… not been particularly pleasant as we waited for the Zora to return with the key. I did not think that they would actually give us the key. I had told Zelda that I sensed a few Poes around. I had told Zelda that we should just steal the key with the ghosts' help. That suggestion combined with my threats before had not sat well with her.

We made it to the eastern gate of the town after a few more minutes of walking. The gate was open, perhaps from the people fleeing, or monsters coming and going. The smell of smoke and dirt was stronger once we entered. The cobblestone street was torn apart, long gouges carved into the ground. A few buildings had fallen while others were missing sections of their walls. The beast Ganon must have been as large as Vaati's bat form considering all of the damage.

The streets were oddly quiet, the only sound echoing through were metallic clicks and shrieks. Swords were clashing outside the castle if I had pinpointed the location correctly. Once we were a street away from the courtyard leading into the castle, Zelda summoned a bow made from light magic.

When reached the end of the street, we kept in the shadow of the building. As we were about to peek around, there was a scream. I had to fight running around the corner as the agonized screaming continued. It took a second to register that it was not Link's voice. No, it was deeper. I finally dared a peek around the wall.

Ganondorf was on his knees, Link's sword stabbed through the Gerudo's chest. Link stumbled back as he pulled his sword out. His clothes were torn, muddied, and, in places, red with blood. As one arm lowered his sword, he used the other hand to grasp at a wound. He stared at the body now on the ground before him.

The wind picked up and suddenly Vaati was beside Link, shoving the knight out of the way. A barrier formed around him and the corpse. Vaati held out his hand. Light began to erupt from Ganon's body, and soon became too bright to see. The only sound I could hear was Vaati's crazy laughter ringing out. Just as quickly as the barrier and light had formed, they dissipated. Vaati… Vaati now had golden horns protruding from his head. His hat had disappeared, but the red gem remained and was now centered between his horns. His eyes no longer appeared human; instead his red eyes seemed to glow.

I stood paralyzed. I was not just his appearance. I could feel the power he had. From him, I could feel an eerie aura of… of evil. There was no other word to describe that nauseating, crushing power he now had surrounding him.

Link had stared in horror, and was only now beginning to pull himself off of the ground. Vaati had turned towards him, ready to take a second piece of the Triforce.

A streak of light hit Vaati squarely in the chest, knocking him back. Zelda ran past me, her bow in hand. She made it to Link's side and was helping him to his feet.

"I see you have arrived," Vaati grumbled as he looked at his chest. He had not even been wounded, only his clothes had been torn. He grinned wickedly. "How convenient that the remaining pieces have been delivered to me." He looked my direction. "Why thank you, Eivie. Perhaps you are not completely useless."

I bit my lip, and held my ground. My hands were shaking so I balled them into fists.

"Stay there, and I may be able to overlook your disobedience this one last time." He focused on Link and Zelda as they tried to sneak off.

Zelda shot another arrow at Vaati. The gleaming arrow was caught in a vortex and flung to the side. As Link lifted his sword, Vaati aimed a blast of magic at them. The energy hit them, exploding with enough force that it ripped dirt and stone from the ground. As the dust cleared, I could see Zelda holding her hands up, the remains of a barrier shattering. Zelda was breathing heavily. Link looked ready to pass out from the earlier fight. Vaati seemed to be having the time of his life. I needed to do something. Anything. I slowly raised my shaking hands.

Vaati was charging another blast of red energy. I took a step forward, then steadied myself. The blue flames of my jinx spell fanned out over the area, surrounding Vaati. It was enough to break his concentration on his current spell. While he snarled and turned toward me, I ran forward.

The jinx had not stopped him from using magic. His hand glowed bright blue as he sent another spell at me. I turned incorporeal and dodged a second before I was struck. The spell hit the ground, turning the grass to stone.

"Eivie!" Vaati growled. He summoned several sentries before going to attack the fleeing Zelda and Link. The two were still only a few streets away.

The sentries all fired searing red lasers in my direction. One grazed my leg. Even while I was a ghost his magic could affect me. I searched the ground while trying to dodge the dancing lasers as they moved back and forth. A knight's bloodstained sword was the closest. Before grabbing the weapon, I sent out another wave of flames. The lasers momentarily stopped, allowing me to become physical and pick up the sword. I slashed apart the two nearest sentries before the barrage started again.

I blocked the first laser with the sword. Heat traveled down the weapon, the area under the laser turning red and ready to melt. I heard another explosion and Link scream for Zelda. With a growl I sent another jinx spell at the sentries. Then I looked over my shoulder to see what happened.

Zelda's hands were burned, her barrier not shielding them from the whole blast. Link was trying to pull her behind him as Vaati prepared another attack. The narrow street they were in gave them no way to hide. They could only run forward with no hope of dodging Vaati's magic. I was not close enough to take a swing at him. The jinx would probably not surprise him another time. I glanced at the sword in my hand. Hopefully the Death Sword's strength remained.

I raised the sword and took a step forward, throwing it with all of my strength. The blade flew the air, imbedding itself in Vaati's back. His spell backfired, catching him in a fiery blast. He fell to his knees. Link and Zelda took off running.

Vaati coughed as he stood back up. The sword fell from his back and clattered against the cobblestone. He laughed quietly a few times as he turned to face me. His eyes were glowing with ire. The sentries disappeared.

When I tried to run, he teleported in front of me and tackled me to the ground. His hands were soon around my throat.

"You could have had everything if you chose me," he snarled. "So why them? Why chose the two that cannot save you? The two that will inevitably die and be reborn without a single memory of you? I could have helped you!" He gritted his teeth, squeezing my neck tighter as he slammed my head against the ground.

"They… They…" I tried to pry his hands off, lightheadedness setting in. "Will win. They're… my friends…" I coughed. "And… I'm already… dead." It was too hard to speak more.

"Damn it, Eivie," he hissed as he removed one of his hands. "I should have killed you." His fist crashed into the side of my face, causing me to yelp. "I should have killed you the moment I regained my memory instead of clinging onto that human side's affections."

As he raised his hand again, I used a jinx spell while I became a ghost. I passed through him and ran to the other side of the courtyard. I became visible again as I reached for a Bokoblin's cleaver. A gust caught me and slammed me into a wall, knocking the air from my lungs. I stumbled to my feet, bracing myself against the wall as I coughed up blood.

He teleported in front of me again, grabbing my shoulder with one hand. He pushed his arm against my neck to pin me against the wall. I saw a flash of blue light forming. Before he got the chance to turn me to stone, I escaped by becoming incorporeal. I only made it a few steps when the blast of another spell hit me. I fell over, becoming visible again.

I screamed when I tried to stand before falling back down. My legs were burnt and bloody. He stood a few feet away, staring down at me coldly.

"Beg for your life. Beg for me to spare you."

"No." I smiled before coughing up more blood. "Kill me like you threatened to do all of those times."

He raised his hand, charging another blast of magic. He never looked away from me. I knew he was waiting for me tell him to stop. He wanted an excuse to stop, for me to plead to him.

When the spell was complete, the glowing red orb of energy flew towards me. It hit the ground in front of me, shattering the stone to pieces. The impact sent me flying through the wall of a nearby building. My ears were ringing from the explosion; I do not know if I was screaming or not.

I was still alive, lying on the floor of that building, bleeding from various gashes from the sharpened stone and the shattered wood. Everything felt broken. It ached to breathe. Every muscle refused to move. My vision was already clouding around the edges. So I gave in, closing my eyes.

"Pathetic human."

A/N- I'm done with finals and had time to work on this finally! I tried to describe a slightly more human version of Vaati's reborn form. This was not thoroughly edited either. I don't have much else to say other than that the end is coming. Thank you all for reading and I hope you stick around!

Joystick Gamer- And hopefully the action has commenced! Thank you for reviewing again!

Guest- I always happy to hear people are enjoying my story! Thank you for the review!